While these fellows were busy bickering over how to divide the spoils and indulging in their boundless fantasies, Jiang Chen suddenly appeared—as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over their heads.
Jiang Chen not only admitted that he had killed the two emperor-realm experts, Dajiao and Ma Lao'er, but also declared that Emperor Xinyun had already fallen.
Though everyone had already harbored their suspicions, the mere thought that an emperor-realm powerhouse like Emperor Xinyun had perished without anyone noticing sent an involuntary shiver of dread through every heart.
This Jiang Chen truly possessed the strength to slay emperor-realm experts!
So young, yet capable of killing emperor-realm powerhouses as casually as sharing a laugh. Was it really a wise choice to make an enemy of such a genius—an enemy with whom there could be no reconciliation, only a fight to the death?
"Danji, you say I killed the emperor-realm expert of your Pill Fire City. But why don't you mention how you colluded with Emperor Shura to plot against our Liuli Royal City's Emperor Peacock? Why don't you mention that those two emperor-realm experts went to my Myriad Image Region to cause trouble and were simply seeking their own deaths? Why don't you mention that your ambush of me here led to Emperor Xinyun's death at my hands—that he was the one who walked into his own doom?"
Jiang Chen spoke at a leisurely, unhurried pace.
With a flicker of his figure, he materialized in the void, barely a hundred zhang from those emperor-realm experts.
Yet that mere hundred zhang of distance might as well have been a gap veiled in mist. Those people watched Jiang Chen shimmering like a phantom before them—seemingly within arm's reach yet impossibly remote, a distance that could never be bridged.
Emperor Danji was practically apoplectic. Forcing down his fury, he snarled, "You little brat, no silver-tongued tricks will change the fact that the grudge between your Liuli Royal City and my Pill Fire City runs deep as the sea—we can never coexist under the same sky!"
Jiang Chen merely sneered. "That's precisely what I wanted to say."
"Jiang Chen, you little brat! With so many emperor-realm experts standing right here, what gives you the right to be so arrogant? Our Pill Fire City, together with the four first-rate sects of the Upper Eight Regions, will march on your Liuli Royal City in a joint campaign. Once the army arrives, your Liuli Royal City won't survive—and we'll see how cocky you are then!"
An emperor-realm expert behind Emperor Danji chimed in with a jeer.
Jiang Chen, however, looked perfectly at ease. "I've always been this arrogant—what can your Pill Fire City do about it? Danji, don't dress it up in such noble language. You want to covet my Pine Crane Pill and Emperor Transcendence Pill? Just say so. Why beat around the bush? You've lived for thousands of years—does age only make you more hypocritical?"
Emperor Danji snorted coldly. "Nonsense! Your Liuli Royal City may treasure those pills, but do you really think the rest of the world does the same?"
Jiang Chen let out an amused laugh. "So you're saying the Pine Crane Pill doesn't interest you?"
Emperor Danji replied with lofty disdain, "Not in the slightest. When it comes to alchemy heritage, even in another three thousand years your Liuli Royal City still won't catch up to my Pill Fire City. Do you really think one or two novelty pills can change a gap this vast? Dream on!"
"My, my, Danji—you truly are shameless to the bone," Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh. "Anyone who doesn't know the truth might actually believe you don't care about the Pine Crane Pill. But I wonder—how did the very Pine Crane Pill that Heavenly Sound Temple won at auction end up in the hands of your Pill Fire City?"
Emperor Danji's heart went cold. This matter was a closely guarded secret between Pill Fire City and Heavenly Sound Temple—how could this brat possibly know?
To obtain that Pine Crane Pill, Emperor Danji had resorted to relentless pressure, even subtly threatening Heavenly Sound Temple until they had no choice but to hand it over.
Of course, Emperor Danji hadn't completely shameless about it. He had reimbursed Heavenly Sound Temple the full amount of spirit stones they had spent at the auction, ensuring they didn't take a total loss.
Still, even so, Heavenly Sound Temple had been far from pleased. After all, they had waged a frenzied bidding war against the Celestial Dragon Sect over that Pine Crane Pill, making bitter enemies of the Celestial Dragon Sect in the process.
Emperor Danji's method of obtaining the Pine Crane Pill had been somewhat less than honorable. Having Jiang Chen expose it in front of everyone naturally left him shaken.
The emperor-realm expert from Heavenly Sound Temple also showed a flicker of surprise.
Emperor Danji's gaze shot toward the Heavenly Sound Temple expert. Clearly, he suspected that Heavenly Sound Temple had secretly leaked the information.
The Heavenly Sound Temple expert's mouth went bitter. He quickly sent a telepathic message: "Emperor Danji, our Heavenly Sound Temple absolutely did not leak any information!"
Emperor Danji half-believed, half-doubted, but maintained his cold snort. "You brat, spouting whatever nonsense you please. A mere Pine Crane Pill is truly beneath my notice."
Even now, Emperor Danji refused to back down.
Jiang Chen's tone grew deliberately exaggerated, and he clicked his tongue. "Then where did the Pine Crane Pill that the pill emperors of Pill Fire City's Pure Blaze Hall have been slaving away to reverse-engineer come from, I wonder?"
What?!
Emperor Danji was utterly stunned. The fact that the pill emperors of the Pure Blaze Hall were secretly studying the Pine Crane Pill was one of Pill Fire City's greatest secrets.
Aside from Emperor Danji himself, only a precious few emperor-realm experts within Pill Fire City knew about it. Emperor Danji had specifically placed his youngest son in charge of the project. The goal was to build up Young Master Tianlin's reputation, let him earn merit, and bolster his authority—laying the groundwork for his eventual succession.
Emperor Danji had originally designated the Pill King Jilang as his alchemical successor, while intending to groom his youngest son, Young Master Tianlin, as his martial successor.
But Pill King Jilang, who had seemed the picture of perfection before encountering Jiang Chen, had suffered one defeat after another in his wake, drifting ever further from the expectations Emperor Danji had placed in him.
And so, Emperor Danji had decided to pin all his hopes—both martial and alchemical—on Young Master Tianlin.